


Child of Truth

by CaptainShipper



Category: Persona 4, Persona 5
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Amamiya Ren is the best husband and dad, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I'm Sorry, M/M, Past Torture, Persona 4 Spoilers, Persona 5 Protagonist is from Inaba, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Post-Canon, Protective Narukami Yu, That wasn't a tag?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:07:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27270940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainShipper/pseuds/CaptainShipper
Summary: Narukami Maeko, the daughter of the trickster and the seeker of truth. Born and raised in Inaba, Tokyo is a totally different ballpark. Maybe it was the strange app, the dream, the blue butterfly, or her beloved family cat talking. Maeko isn't ready for her year in Tokyo.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Amagi Yukiko/Original Male Character(s), Amamiya Ren/Narukami Yu, Okumura Haru/ original male character(past), Persona 4 Protagonist/Persona 5 Protagonist, Sakamoto Ryuji/Takamaki Ann, Shirogane Naoto/Tatsumi Kanji
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really nervous about posting this, like oh my god. I have been planning out just the first part of this for a while, this is a big project that I hope you enjoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I had to edit and change some things about this chapter, I hope this is better than the state it was in.

“Maeko! If you don’t hurry you’ll be late!” A male voice yelled at the teenage girl. She fixed her long raven hair and smiled at herself. Her light grey eyes staring back at her. 

“Coming dad!” She double-checked her uniform, making sure everything was right. She smiled seeing the Yasogami symbol, she was a second-year starting today. She picked up her bag, before heading down the stairs. 

“Someone is excited.” She looked to see her dad, he had the same raven hair like her. However, his was unruly thick curls compared to her straight thin hair. He placed down a plate with breakfast. 

“Curry?” She gave her dad a strange look. 

“It was my breakfast on the first day of my second year.” He shrugged it off. 

“Has papa left yet?” 

“No, he’s helping Kana right now.” 

“Morning big sis!” A voice called to her cheerfully. 

“Morning Kana.” She smiled at her younger brother, as he entered the kitchen. Her younger brother's hair was always so soft looking even with the curls, and she always was a little jealous he was the one to get the silver hair. She ate some curry and couldn’t help the smile that came. Someone had taught her dad how to make curry and no one could compete with it. 

“Good morning dear, here’s your coffee.” Her dad handed her father a cup of steaming coffee. Something that was always his job in the morning, apparently instant coffee was forbidden in the house 

“Thank you, Ren.” He kissed his husband’s pale cheek. 

“Tired Yu?” He chuckled with a smile after he received a lazy kiss. 

“I was up most of the night researching.” He groaned, a big file of papers could be seen from where they sat his office door wide open. It was usually like that when he had a big article to write.

“Daddy! This is so good!” Kana cheered, getting a smile from both his parents. A nice soft warmth filled the teenage girl’s chest as she watched her family, the soft sun shining in from the window. 

“Thank you, sweetheart.” Ren looked down at his watch for a second. “If you don’t hurry you’ll be late.” The teen girl gasped and grabbed her school bag. 

“Bye! I love you! See you after school!” She gave each family member a kiss, even Morgana who had just wandered in sleepy. Seeming shocked by her sudden form of affection. She waved as she left the house, shutting the front door behind her. For a second, she felt the chill of fall ran down her spine before she rushed down the road. The hard pavement hitting against her uniform shoes as she ran. Passing places and trails she knows by heart. Her hair flying behind her as she rushed through the flood plain, noticing a familiar form ahead of her. “Kiyo-senpai!” Maeko ran up to a tall teen with short dark blue hair. He wore the Yasogami high uniform with the top button unhooked. He turned to her, and a smile formed on his face as she ran towards him. 

“Hey, Maeko!” He stopped and waited for her to catch up to him. 

“How’s it feel being a third-year?” 

“Honesty… a little strange. I worry about my grades.” He admitted to the girl.

“You’ll be fine, still top of the class.” 

“Kettle meet pot.” They chuckled at each other, the girl trying to ignore the way her cheeks heated up. They began to head up the hill to the gates of the high school when they heard something.

“Good day everyone.” They turned to the black-haired girl, her long hair in a ponytail. She had a red headband in her hair, standing out in her grey, black and yellow uniform. 

“Oh hey Arisu, how’s your mom?” Kiyo asked the girl. 

“Busy as ever with the Inn, you’d think she’d get a break this time of year.” She sighed loudly. “Not to mention the pregnancy. Well anyways, Kiyo-senpai,” The elder teen turned to her. “How’s your mom and dad?” He shrugged in return. 

“The same, mom had to leave early for work today. Dad was in the textile shop by the time I left. Though Maeko has the best parents.”

“My dads are dorks! You should see them half the time!” Her friends laughed, but she continued. “I’m serious! They talk to Morgana like he can understand and they listen to him! Like he’s giving a response.” Before anything else could be said Arisu was having a laughing fit, something they had both seen her mother do. 

“Hey, guys!” They looked at the school gate to see two other girls, one waving to the group. A girl with long chestnut hair waved to them, she smiled widely. 

“Sora!” Maeko ran up to her best friend and hugged her. “How’s the queen of Junes?” The other girl hit her friend with her school bag. 

“Like you have room to talk cat girl.” They both laughed.

“Come on dorks, let’s go before we’re late.” Annya teased, she adjusted her green jacket before heading into the school. 

Ren was washing the dishes from breakfast when he heard his phone ring in the other room. He let out a sigh of annoyance, before gaining an idea.

“Mona! Can you get that for me?” He called into the living room. He knew his phone was sitting on the small table they had in there. Blue eyes slowly opened, he looked to it. Thinking for a moment. 

“Do I have to?”

“Morgana, you live in my house don’t you?” 

“Yeah?”

“There’s your answer.” 

“Ugh fine!” The cat jumped off the couch and looked at the phone. “It’s Futaba!” Ren shook his heads to get rid of the water, before walking into the living room and taking the call. 

“Hey.” He answered with a smile. “What…” Morgana watched quietly as the man’s face turned to one of horror. He placed a hand over his mouth as charcoal grey eyes widened in shock. He slowly took a seat on the couch, trying to hadn’t the impact of what was said. Worry filled the cat as he watched the man. “Right… are you okay? I’ll see when I can come, okay?” With that, he hung up the phone, and like a dam had been broken Ren began to sob. The cat said nothing as he moved to the man’s lap, letting him pet him for comfort. The tears didn’t seem to stop as he sat there trying to accept what he had just heard. 

“See you tomorrow!” Maeko waved to her friends as they went in the direction of their own homes. She unlocked the door and called in. “Dad! I’m home!” She noticed how silent the house was, and the strange amount of dishes in the sink. Confused she continued to look through the house, peaking into rooms. “Dad?” She finally looked into the living and that’s when the teen saw her dad sitting on the couch, seemingly in a haze. Petting Morgana, he looked exhausted. His skin seemed paler than usual and he just looked tired. “Dad..?” That seemed to shock him out of the strange haze. 

“Maeko?”

“Yeah, dad.”

“What time is it?” He rubbed his eyes before looking down at his watch, his eyes widening before standing. “Oh shit Kana!” 

“I can pick him up… are you alright?” Her light grey eyes narrowed as she inspected the man. 

“I’m… I’m okay and thank you. I know, that’s the last thing you want to do.” He rubbed the back of his neck. 

“I don’t mind at all.” She flashed him a small smile and began the trip to the elementary school, pulling out her phone and she hit a contact. 

“Hello?”

“Dad is acting weird, you need to come home.” Maeko simply said to her father. 

“Acting weird how?” 

“He just seems really out of it, he forgot to pick up Kana.” 

“Okay… I’m coming home. I’ll text you if I need you and Kana to be away from home?” 

“Okay, I love you.” She nervously responded. 

“Love you too.” She hung up the phone, worry filling her chest. That’s when she noticed she had made her way to the elementary school. 

“Big sis!” She turned to her brother, she kneeled down and let him hug her tightly. “Where’s daddy?” 

“Uh, dad is having a hard day that’s all.” She explained softly. That’s when she got the text. “Why don’t we go to see uncle Kanji, we can pick something up for dad.” 

“Okay!” She giggled at her little brother, as they walked to the shopping center. 

“Ren! I’m home!” Yu called upon entering the house. 

“Oh hey, how was your day?” He gave his husband a soft kiss on his cheek. It was clear the younger man’s mind was elsewhere. 

“Ren… did something happen?” He asked gently, cautiously. 

“I-I got a call… from Futaba.” The man paused to swallow the growing lump in his throat. “It was about Sojiro… and…” The tears began again and he felt arms wrap around him. “He’s gone Yu… he’s gone.”

“I’m so sorry…” He held the other man close. “I know this must be hard.” Yu let his husband cry on his shoulder. He held the other man’s cheeks and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. “We’ll get through this, okay baby?” He felt his own heart sink as he held the younger man, Sojiro was a good man. While he could come off harsh he really was a kind man, and he meant the world to his husband. He was there at their wedding, unlike Ren’s real parents. Thinking of it all, he only tightened the embrace he had his husband in. 

“Oh! Hey Kana, Maeko.” The black-haired man with glasses greeted the siblings as they entered the textile shop. 

“Uncle Kanji! We’re here to find daddy a gift.” Kana announced happily as they entered.

“Are you now?” The man chuckled lightheartedly.

“Yup! Big sis said he’s not feeling well.” Kanji sent a curious eye to the teenage girl but began to help the boy pick out an item for his dad. 

“Maeko? Everything okay?” Kiyo came walking out with what looked like knitting supplies. He had instantly noticed the look on her face and her distracted glances. 

“Kinda… something is just going on with my dad. I was told to stay away from home for a bit.” She explained when a voice called.

“Big sis! This looks like Mona.” She looked to the small cat doll, distracted by her worries for a moment. Just as she took the doll into her hand she felt her phone vibrate.

**Papa:** You can come home now, it’s sorted out

“Let’s get it, I’m sure dad will love it.” She smiled and turned to Kanji.

“Don’t worry about paying, this seems important.” 

“Thank you, Uncle Kanji.” With that Maeko and Kana left. They walked through the shopping central hand and hand.

“Do you think he’ll like it?” The boy asked, looking up to his sister with curious dark grey eyes. 

“I’m sure he will! He loves Mona, so he’ll love it.” She reassured him with a smile. This brought a smile to the silver-haired boy. They continued to walk in silence, holding hands. 

“Big sis…” She looked at him, nodding to let him know she was listening. “Is daddy going to be okay?” Maeko found her voice stuck in her throat for a moment. Big charcoal grey eyes looked at her worried. 

“Y-yeah, of course, he’ll be okay. Dad is one of the toughest people I know.” She gave him a forced smile, but he didn’t seem to notice. Only brightening and agreeing with her.  _ “Dad will be fine, he’s so strong. He’ll always be okay.”  _ Maeko quietly reassured herself as they made it to the two-story house. She opened the door to see her parents, they still seemed to be talking. Sitting at the dining table, Yu gently rubs his husband’s hands. His light grey eyes are sympathetic and looking sadly at the other man. Upon seeing their kids, their moods and faces changed completely. The black-haired man turned to them and smiled. Maeko tried to ignore how hollow it looked to her. 

“Welcome home!” He kept that same smile, but Kana didn’t notice. He smiled and ran to the man.

“Daddy! I heard you were having a bad day.” The boy offered up the cat doll.

“Thank you, Kana, you’re so sweet.” Ren smiled and brought his son into a hug. The smile this time, it was much more real. It felt like he was truly himself if only for a moment. Fighting the tears that were forming in his eyes.

“Don’t cry daddy.” 

“It’s not a bad thing, I promise. I just love you so much…” He lifted the boy up and brought him to another room. 

“What happened?” The teenage girl asked her father quietly. Not wanting to get the other man’s attention.

“Someone has passed away… it’s going to be hard for a bit.” She wanted to ask more, to understand what her dad was going through. At the same time, it didn’t seem right to pry, especially since it affected him this much. 

“I’ll see you in a few days.” Ren had a suitcase next to him. His husband and children waiting for the train with him. 

“Bye daddy, I’ll miss you.” Kana pouted, playing with his fingers.

“Aww sweetheart, I’ll only be gone for a few days.” He brought his son into his arms and hugged him tightly.

“Be safe, call when you make it there okay?” Yu added, kissing his husband’s cheek after he placed their son down. 

“I will don’t worry so much.” He held his husband’s hand softly. “I love you, Mae.” He kneeled down and kissed his daughter’s cheek softly.

“Love you too, be safe.” 

“I will be. Looks like my ride's here.” The black-haired man got onto the train. Waving to his family from the window. Ren took out his phone and sent a quick text to Futaba and the others, letting them know he was coming. He fought the feeling to cry again, he couldn’t, not here. Yet, as he thought of the kind man that would now be missing from his life, he couldn’t help it.

“How’s your dad been?” Kiyo asked as the group stood around Maeko’s locker. She sighed, grabbing out a folder.

“The only person who heard from him is papa, and he says he’s okay. Apparently, someone important to him died, that’s why it’s been hitting him so hard. I’m worried about him…” She admitted softly. 

“Aww, I’m sorry.” Sora went to pull the other girl into a hug. As she left the tight embrace she felt her phone vibrate. 

**Papa:** Hey, you need to come home. We’ve got something to talk about.

**Maeko:** K, see you soon 

“I’ve gotta go, see you.” She adjusted her bag and hurried out of the school. She felt an uncomfortable feeling tighten her chest, she wasn’t sure why. Maeko sighed as she put earbuds in, letting the music play. That’s when she noticed a bright blue butterfly, it was only there for a few moments. She stopped in her tracks and watched it fly by before it seemed to disappear. “What was that?” The teen shook her head and held it for a moment. It was so bright and honestly beautiful, she had never seen anything like it before. She shook her head again deciding to ignore it as just a butterfly and continue on her way. Reaching home and quickly taking her keys out and unlocking the door. 

“I’m home,” Maeko called as she took a moment to take off her shoes. 

“Welcome home.” A familiar voice said.

“Dad!” She ran to embrace him. 

“I missed you too.” Ren chuckled and hugged her back. “Yu is picking up Kana right now.” He explained to his daughter softly. 

“What do we need to talk about?” 

“Let’s wait until your father gets home, okay?” In return, he got a nod. “Do you need any help with your homework?” He asked, taking a seat at the table. 

“Yeah, can you help me with social studies?” 

“Of course, show me.” The teen brought out her homework and slowly worked out the questions with her dad. 

“Are you feeling better?” She suddenly asked, the man hesitated for a moment. His eyes narrowed, and he swallowed. 

“I’m… better, but you don’t need to worry.” He smiled brightly at his daughter, but she didn’t seem convinced. 

“Daddy!” The two turned to see the small boy. 

“Kana! I missed you!” He lifted the boy into his arms, hugging him tightly. 

“So can we talk about what’s going on?” Maeko asked, the two men looked at each other. Both seeming to have a nervous look on their faces. 

“We have to, come on. Let’s go to the living room.” Yu sighed out, Maeko and Kana found their seats on the couch. Mona curling up in the teenage girl’s lap. “We’re moving to Tokyo.”

“What!?” The girl immediately yelled. 

“Maeko…”

“We can’t leave Inaba! What about our family here? Our friends?” Morgana jumped from her lap as she stood, Kana, looking between his three family members confused. 

“Sweetheart, it’s only for a year. Testing out the waters, if it doesn’t work out we’ll move back.” Ren spoke gently, still, he looked guilty.

“Do I not get a choice!?” She raged her grey eyes in a pointed glare. The silence was enough of an answer for her. “Of course not!” She stormed up the stairs. 

“Maeko!” She ignored the call for her and slammed her door. She tried to control her rage once she had reached the sanctity of her room, but she couldn’t. She slammed her pillow on the floor, hoping it would help her. She squeezed her eyes shut taking a deep breath, feeling tears of anger burn her eyes. 

The black-haired girl sat on her bed scrolling through her phone, when she heard a light knock on her door. 

“Hey… can I come in?” The teen sighs upon hearing her papa’s voice. She thought for a moment. 

“Yeah… it’s unlocked.” She responded he walked in. Sitting on her bed, he placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“I know you would much rather stay here, and I get it. I’m not a huge fan of the city myself, but this is for your dad.”

“What?” She looked to him, eyes wide. She got a nod in return. 

“He needs this, Tokyo is like a second home to him. He spent his second year of high-school there. That’s how he met his family, all your other aunts and uncles are there. Please, just give it a shot… if we hate it. We’re all right back here, promise.” 

“Okay… I’ll do this for dad.” She sighed and felt her father ruffle her hair. 

“Who knows, you might like it.” He reassured the teen softly. Yu left after giving her a forehead kiss. Shutting the door behind him. Maeko silently sat on her bed for a moment thinking. An awful dread feeling her chest as she thought of Tokyo. 

The ride to Tokyo was miserable even with their own car, it didn’t help that Morgana couldn’t pick a place to rest. He kept switching between her lap and Ren’s, she wasn’t sure how he could so easily get from the front to the back seat. Kana needed a bathroom it seemed every half hour. She spent the whole ride looking at her phone and listening to music. 

**Sora:** You have to tell us what your new school is like

**Annya:** Oh hell yeah! 

**Maeko:** You guys are more excited than I am -_-

**Kiyo:** We’ll miss you

**Kiyo:** Of course

**Arisu:** We just want you to look at the bright side

**Maeko:** I appreciate it

**Maeko:** But I don’t know

**Sora:** Come on!

**Sora:** Just give it a shot UWU

**Maeko:** Don’t ever do that again

**Kiyo:** I agree

**Annya:** Don’t worry! I punched her for you!  
The girl snorted as she received more texts from her friends. Kana looked at her with curious eyes. 

**Maeko:** Say hi to Kana

She turned to her brother and showed off her screen to the boy. 

**Arsiu:** Hi Kana-chan!!

**Annya:** Yo! Kana!

**Kiyo:** Hi! How are you Kana?

**Sora:** How’s the best guy in the world!?

“Hi!” Kana smiled and waved at her phone, Maeko smiled. Her dad looked back at them and smiled brightly at the two. 

**Maeko:** He says hi

After a few hours, the teen felt the heaviness of her eyelids. Kana was already fast asleep, and she let the music soothe her to sleep. 

“Do you think this is wrong?” Ren suddenly asked his husband. “Inaba is their home…” 

“Tokyo can be their home too. Maeko and Kana could love it. I imagine you weren’t the most excited when you first went to Tokyo.” Yu reasoned, causing a chuckle to come from the other man. 

“You don’t know half of it. I swore Sojiro was going to kill me by the end of the year, then I learned he was just a big softy.” The smile slowly turned to a sad one. “I can’t believe he’s gone…” Morgana looked up to the man with sad eyes. “I wish… I don’t know. I had gotten to spend more time with him…” 

“Ren…” The cat sat up as his husband grabbed his hand reassuringly. “I’m gonna miss the chief… a lot.” 

“Me too Mona… me too.” The tears began to well, but he took a breath and brushed them away. Charcoal grey eyes narrowing as he tried to focus on anything else.

“Mae… wake up… we’re here.” Yu gently shook the girl’s shoulder. 

“What time is it?” She asked softly and yawned. 

“Around 3 in the morning, your dad and I set up some futons.” He explained quietly. Maeko nodded, still in the haze of sleep. Waking into the small house there were three futons set up on the floor. Kana already curled up on one. Her dad seemed to double-check things before laying down, his husband joining him. Maeko opened her phone to shut off her music when she noticed something, a bright red app with an eye-like symbol. She didn’t remember downloading it either, it had a strange aura about it. Either from fear of malware or being creeped out by it, she simply deleted it before going to bed. 

When she opened her eyes she saw shelves of books. The shelves covered the walls making what seemed to be an endless amount of books. On each shelf, there were so many books that each seemed packed tight on the shelf. The bit of wall you could see was sapphire blue, and the soft-looking carpet was a dark royal blue. Everything in this room seems to have a blue haze.

“What..?” She sat up on a soft blue sofa. Maeko stood still confused and wandered into the next room. Having the same pattern as the last.

“At last you’ve joined us.” A high-pitched male voice greeted her. She saw a man with a long nose, a balding head, dressed in a black suit sitting crossed legged at a desk. Beside his desk stood a short boy in a blue coat jacket. He was barely taller than the legs of the desk. He had white hair and yellow eyes. Hair wasn’t even the right description for it, it didn’t move like hair. Neither did it seem to have individual strains. It was just odd for a lack of better words. He held a brown book that was too large for him, but he didn't even seem to struggle holding it. 

“Who are you..? Where am I..?” She looked around, the room was just a giant circle with those same shelves covering the walls. 

“Welcome to the velvet room. I am Igor and this is Jose.” She couldn’t believe her eyes as the small boy waved to her. Jose took a moment to stare at her. Maeko felt an uneasiness hit her as he stared and she shifted uncomfortably under the golden gaze.

“You do look an awful lot like the trickster.” He suddenly stated rather bluntly. Honestly startling her a little. 

“The trickster… what’s going on?” She looked between the man and the boy. She couldn’t be angry, no she was just so confused. Her mind felt like it was all fogged up. Maeko for the life of her, couldn’t think clearly. It’s not like any of her questions had been given any answers anyway. 

“All will be explained, we promise. However, your time is running short.” Just like that, an alarm goes off. She was confused for a moment before seeming to catch on.

“Wait!” 

She was shocked to find herself in an empty home when she sat up. Where the hell was the alarm coming from? Better yet, what the hell was that dream? She rubbed her eyes with her palms and groaned loudly. 

“Well, good morning sleeping beauty.” A familiar voice greeted her. She looked at her father. 

“Ugh morning…” She yawned trying to get out her words. A chuckle came from the black-haired man. 

“Come on, we’re going to get breakfast.” 

“What about my clothes?”

“You won’t need to worry about that.” Confused the girl just nodded and joined her family. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think of this new version of this chapter.  
> Stuff that's kinda important: Yu is an investigative report, Ren is currently a house husband but had been trying to find a place to start a cafe before Sojiro died. Naoto is a detective and is often asked to travel to work on cases in other cities (this is important for later)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting the other side of the family

The family of four found themselves in front of a cafe named LeBlanc. A fond smile was on Ren’s face when he entered the cafe. 

“Ren!” A large number of voices called for the man. A blonde man wrapped an arm around his shoulders. 

“Jeez guys, you act like I kidnapped him.” Yu rolled his light grey eyes. 

“Oh! You must be Maeko-chan and Kana-chan.” A woman with auburn curly hair looked to them, her voice soft and gentle. Kana had decided to hide behind his dad’s leg. 

“It’s alright, this is the rest of our family,” Ren explained to his son. 

“We should probably introduce ourselves.” A woman with blonde hair chuckled. “I’m Sakamoto Ann, but just call me Ann.” 

“H-hi…” He gripped onto his dad’s pants. 

“Oh my god! He’s so cute!” A woman with long orange hair commented. 

“He’s not usually this shy,” Yu mumbled looking to his husband. 

“This is my husband Ryuji, he’s not the smartest so forgive him.” She winked at the boy, making him smile a little. 

“Hey!” A black-haired man shouted in response. 

“I’m Sakura Futaba! Your cool aunt!” The woman with orange in a ponytail from earlier introduced herself. 

“Ignore her, Nijima Makoto. Please call me Makoto.” A woman with long dark brown hair requested. She smiled kindly at them. 

“Kitagawa Yusuke.” A man with long blue hair smiled softly, his hair draped over his shoulders. 

“Okumura Haru! It’s nice to meet you Kana-chan and to see you again Maeko-chan.” The woman with long curly hair greeted them. 

“Yoshizawa Sumire, wow you look a lot like Ren-kun.” A woman with short red hair commented when she finally took in the two. 

“Yo, Maeko. You’re probably bored out of your mind, the other teenagers are upstairs in your dad’s old room.” Futaba pointed to the level above with her thumb. The teen looked to her dads, unsure. 

“Go ahead.” The silver-haired man encouraged her with a hand on her back. 

“Oh… okay.” She hesitantly headed up the stairs. She was greeted with the sight of three other teens sitting at a table with some chairs from the cafe downstairs. “Uh, hi.” she waved, pushing some of her hair behind her ear. 

“Yo! You the new girl?” A blonde girl with short hair and a few strains of her hair dyed blue and some black, with bright blue eyes. Her eyebrow had a double piercing and a single piercing in her nose. She wore a red shirt with a black jacket on top, simple blue jeans, and black combat boots. She had simple bracelets on with a black and red choker around her neck.

“New girl?” 

“That was kinda rude Saki-chan, I’m Okrumra Jiro. Nice to meet you.” A teen boy with curly auburn hair much like the woman’s downstairs greeted her. He wore a simple white sweater vest with jeans and black tennis shoes. 

“I’m Narukami Maeko.” 

“I should probably introduce myself, Sakamoto Saki. Just call me Saki, I’ve told Jiro a million times to drop the honorifics.” She gave a side glare to the other teen. The last girl rolled her eyes. 

“I’m Niijima Rei, it’s nice to meet you.” This girl had short red hair, it just barely reached her shoulders. She wore a white sweater with black jeans. Wearing a simple white necklace and a black watch, along with short black boots. 

“I guess it’s nice to meet you all.” She took a seat. 

“Well yeah, our parents have known each other for like ever,” Saki commented, she was leaning on her chair. 

“Where are you from Narukami-chan?” Rei ignored the other girl. 

“You can just call me Maeko and I’m from Inaba.” 

“Where is that?” Jiro asked for the group.

“A small town in the countryside. We didn’t have much, but it was Inaba.” She smiled fondly.

"So do you know if you’re gonna go to Shujin?” 

“Shujin?’ 

“The high school we go to.” Saki clarified to the other teen. 

“I’d have to ask my dad,” She explained to the other teen. 

“Big sis, Papa wants to talk to you.” A new voice entered the conversation.

“Okay, Kana.” She smiled and joined her little brother. Making sure he was safe going down the stairs. 

“Hey, we’ve gotta head back to unpack,” Yu explained to the teenager.

“Yeah, okay. It was nice to meet you all.” She bowed to all the adults. 

“Kid, there’s no reason to be so polite.” The ginger notes. 

“We are family,” Ann adds with a smile.

“R-right, sorry.” 

Maeko sighed as she fixed her hair, brushing it out. She fixed her second-year pin to her shujin uniform. She sighed, looking at her phone checking the time when something caught her eye. 

“I thought I deleted that…” She mumbled to herself, simply deleting it again. She hurried down the stairs, her dad helping Kana. 

“Morning! I’m dropping Kana off than heading to Leblanc.” The black-haired man explained to his daughter. 

“Is that where I should head after school?”

“If you want, I’m not opening it yet. Today will just be checking inventory.” 

“I’ll help out after school.” She stated, getting a smile from the man. One she forcibly returned, then headed off to Shujin. 

The train ride led to her being pushed against the door of the train. She let out an annoyed huff when she finally arrived at her station. 

“Yo! Maeko!” A familiar female voice called to her. Saki stood there with Jiro, she wore a t-shirt and baggy jacket in replacement of the uniform jacket and sweater. Her black fishnet tights with holes in it, matching the plaid skirt. Jiro simply wore the uniform without the jacket, the sweater he wore looking rather comfortable.

“Oh, hello Sakamoto-chan.” She greeted the other teen politely. 

“Told you to call me Saki.” The blonde grumbled crossing her arms. Jiro chuckled with a light smile. 

“Oh, a new girl!” A new voice entered the conversation. “Nice to meet you!” A girl only a little taller than Maeko approached them. Her hair was dyed a teal, she wore a long-sleeved crop top, the straps from her bra could be seen around by her collar bone. She had the uniform skirt on with see-through tights, wearing high black heels. 

“Keep your grimy mitts off her Satio.” Saki scowled at the other teen. 

“Aww Sakamoto, no need to be so mean.” Satio pouted playfully. “If you want to hang out with someone worthwhile let me know.” She flipped her wavy hair and smirked. Walking to the school with confidence. 

“Who was that?” She asked the other two.

“Satio Fumiko.” The blonde groaned and rolled her eyes. 

“She’s an idol on break, she’s extremely popular.” Jiro clarified for the teen. 

“She acts like some kind of goddess! Like we should be worshiping where she stands like shujin is her I don’t know!”

“Temple?” Maeko supplied. 

“Exactly!” The three stopped in their tracks when a sharp pain came to their heads. 

“W-what was that?” Jiro asked softly.

“I-it was probably nothing.” The blonde commented when they stopped at the school or what was the school. 

“We went the right way right?” The black-haired girl asked the other two, looking to the other two. Hesitantly, the three headed inside the church looking building. As they made it inside, they saw what looked like other students. All kneeled down in prayer. 

“Who dares to enter my temple? Oh, Sakamoto, I don’t know what I was expecting.” A familiar voice spoke, but it had a strange tinge to it. It didn’t sound quite human. 

“Satio!?” The teens saw the other girl, she was in a long elegant gown and she had pure white wings. 

“Guards, rid my temple of them.” Her cold voice sneered. One of them grabbed onto Jiro, he gasped in pain. 

“This can’t be real…” The blonde’s legs shook when they gave in. Another guard with a blue mask came to try and grab Saki. 

“Leave her alone!” Maeko tried to push the strange guard away. It pushed her away without a second thought.  _ “I have to do something!”  _ Her eyes darted around the room looking for anything that could help her. In a moment of courage, she fought a guard for his sword and tried to stab the one that had Saki.

“Just go!” The blonde yelled at her. 

“No! I’m not leaving you!” She was pushed down. “Shit…” She groaned in pain when she fell to the floor. 

**“Are you just going to sit here? Doing nothing?”** A deep female voice entered her head.  **“Just let yourself being dragged wherever someone wants?”**

“No.” Her hand-formed into a fist. 

**“Then what are you doing, I am thou… thou art I. Stand for those who reach out to you.”** Maeko felt something on her face, her hands grasped what felt like a mask. It was a mask with designs hidden in the black, flowers on the tip of the right side of the mask. She gripped onto and screamed as she ripped it off her face. A woman-like figure covered in scarves and pieces of black fabric. The hood where the head would be was only darkness except for shining yellow eyes. A confident smirk came to her face.  **“This power of mine is yours, take it and destroy them.”**

“I will Laverna!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Laverna is the Roman goddess of thieves. Thanks for reading, don't be afraid to tell me what you thought!


	3. Chapter 3

“Is this for real?” The blonde stared at the other teen with wide eyes. 

“Come on! We need to go find Jiro!” Maeko took off in the direction where the other teen was dragged off to. 

“Wait! What the effin hell was that!? And what are you wearing!?” Light grey eyes narrowed in confusion when she looked down. What was she wearing? It was a dress that went just to her thighs, it was a simple black. A belt around her waist and by her neck, it was more of a cross net style covering her chest. The dress would appear sleeveless, but a black coat covered her shoulders. Red gloves hiding her pale hands, her shoes now brown pointed boots. Armor and tights covering her legs. 

“W-we don’t have time for that, let’s go.” She called and began to run through the temple. They ran past statue after statue of the idol. Saki followed behind Maeko only confused by the whole ordeal. “There!” She pointed to the blue masked guard and the teen being dragged around. She threw a dagger into the back of the guard.  _ “Where the hell did I get that? Questions for another time.”  _ She ran up to the other teen, helping him up. “We need to get out of here.”

“And how do we do that?” Saki asked exhaustedly. 

“Well, we came in from the front.” Jiro brought up to the two. 

“So it’s worth a shot.” Maeko finished for him. “Stay behind me.” She warned them as they headed out of the strange temple. 

“She’s not at school? Thank you, I’ll call her now.” Ren hung up and quickly picked Maeko’s contact. A picture of her smiling seeming to stare right through him. “Pick up Mae…” 

_ “This is Narukami Maeko, I can’t come to the phone right now. If it’s dad or papa, I’ll call you back. If not, leave a message.”  _ Ren felt his heart stop, he felt Morgana and Futaba’s worried eyes on him. When his phone began to vibrate, he looked down to see Haru’s name. 

“Haru?”

“Jiro isn’t at school, and he’s not picking up his phone! This has never happened before! Ann told me Saki is the same.” She spoke frantically.

“Maeko is doing the same. I’m going to go and try to find them.” The black-haired man decided. 

“I’m canceling my meeting and coming too,” Haru added before he could hang up. 

“Ren… what’s going on?” Morgana looked to him with concerned blue eyes. 

“Maeko is missing, and so is Saki and Jiro. I’m going to call Yu and then look for them.” He was looking down at his phone, eyes narrowed with worry. 

“Ren? Everything okay at Leblanc?” His husband’s voice had a cautious tone when he answered. 

“Maeko is missing.”

“What!?”

“The school just called me, said she didn’t show up. I’m going to look for her.” 

“I’ll see if I can talk to my boss and leave.”

“Yu…” 

“My daughter is more important than my job.” 

“Ann-chan, you're sure this can’t wait?” Her manager asked exhaustedly. 

“You’re kidding me, right? This is my child! I could care less about some photoshoot when I know she could be in danger.” The blonde yelled, before storming off. Sending a text to Haru and Ren that she was coming to join them. 

The ex-phantom thieves all met up at the train station along with Yu. 

“If we spit up we can find them easier. Pair up, one group will check around here, another around the central street, and maybe one or two by the school.” Ren explained his plan to the group. 

“I don’t suppose I could join this crisis.” A familiar male voice asked. 

“Of course Akechi, everyone pair up.” Yu took his husband’s hand and gave him a firm nod. Ryuji and Ann doing the same. Haru and Sumire began to head towards the central street. Futaba and Yusuke go back by the mall to check around there. 

“That leaves us, Morgana, we’ll head to the school.” The cat gave the chestnut-haired man a nod. 

“Ren and I are coming with you.” The silver-haired man joined up with them. They quickly caught a train to talk more aboard.

“Where’s Niijima?” Akechi suddenly asked the other three. 

“Makoto said, she’ll be here if it gets worse. She called Rei to see if she knew anything, apparently, she didn’t.” Ren explained to the other man. 

“This isn’t like Maeko, I mean she might be upset about the move… but I don’t think she would do this.” Morgana brought up from Akechi’s shoulder. 

“She wouldn’t, at least I hope not…” The curly-haired man felt guilt tighten his chest. 

“She wouldn’t Ren…” Yu placed a hand on his husband’s shoulder. Reassuring him. “She might be upset, but she knows better.” 

“Let’s hope, they haven’t gotten too deep in shit.” The other man brought up. 

“Where the hell is the exit?” Maeko curses between her teeth as they run through the building. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep fighting the guards. 

“There!” Jiro called, seeing the large double doors. The three rushed through the door, not stopping once they made it outside the temple. 

“ _ You have returned to the real world.”  _ Maeko’s phone called out when they arrived at the sidewalk they were at.

“What? Was that?” Saki asked the other two. 

“Maeko! Thank god.” The girl was pulled into a tight embrace, her dad holding her close. “I was so scared…” The black-haired man admitted. Morgana was on the shoulder of a man with short chestnut hair in a buttoned-up coat. Her other dad joined them in the hug. “I’m sorry…” 

“Dad why…” 

“Yes, they’re here.” The man confirmed while he was on the phone. Soon enough Jiro was in the arms of his mother, tears streaming down her face. Saki having both her mom and dad checking her, making sure she’s okay. 

“You're not mad?” Was her first question to her parents. Her dad chuckled and wiped away a tear forming in his charcoal grey eyes. 

“No, we were worried. Very worried.” She felt her cheeks heat up as her father held her cheeks in his hands. 

“I-I’m sorry…” 

“We’ll talk about this later, let’s just get you home,” Yu spoke up. 

Akechi watched the family quietly, before taking out his phone. 

**Akechi:** I’ll be picking you up after school today

**Nara:** Is everything okay?

**Akechi:** Everything is fine I just…

_ “Wanted to see you… make sure you’re safe...” _

**Akechi:** Got out of work early

**Nara:** I’ll see you then 

“You haven’t met Akechi yet, have you?” Ren’s voice caused him to look up.

“I imagine you're tired of the last time I saw you were but a child sitch. I am Akechi Goro, and yes I prefer Akechi.” He explained, crossing his arms. 

“Let’s just head back to Leblanc. How does coffee and curry sound, Mae?” Ren asked his daughter.

“What about school?”

“I think we need to talk, and that’s a little more important.” The man spoke softly. Rubbing his daughter’s arm, his eyes wide with concern. 

Maeko sat quietly in her dad’s old room, Saki and Jiro went home with their parents. Yu had to go back to work, Morgana was curled in her lap. Letting her pet him, she played with a tuft of fur on his back. 

“Hey…” She turned to see her dad. Maeko looked down to her lap, avoiding his dark grey gaze. He placed down a cup of coffee. “Two tablespoons of sugar and milk, just how you like it…”

“Thanks…” She carefully lifted the cup and took a sip. 

“Mae, we don’t have to talk about it now. I just want you to know, I'm not mad, I just want to know what I can do to make this better.” He spoke gently, and suddenly the tears welled in her eyes. 

“I miss home… I really do…” She admitted with a choked sob. 

“Sweetheart…” He pulled the girl into a tight hug, letting her cry loudly. He kissed the top of her head gently. 

“I want to give here a try! I really do, but…” Her lip began to tremble as she tried to explain. 

“Shh, it’s okay.” He tightened the grip on his daughter as her tears continued. “It’s okay to feel this way…” He reassured her softly, he ran a hand through her hair. 

Yu held Kana’s hand as he animatedly talked about the day he had, he smiled listening. They finally headed into the cafe, and the boy found a seat in one of the booths.

“Hey! How was your first day?” Ren asked excitedly, a bright smile was on his lips. 

“It was great daddy! I got to introduce myself and-” The boy began to go off on his day. Yu let the two talk, deciding to go up the stairs. 

“Hey papa, how was your day?” Maeko asked softly. 

“It was good, has yours gotten a little better?” He asked gently.

“Yeah… dad and I talked for a bit.” She explained, she rubbed her arm uncomfortably.

“I’m sorry…”

“What?”

“I feel like I might’ve forced you to keep quiet about your feelings. When I said this was for your dad, I should’ve said you can still tell us how you feel or something like that.” 

“No… I should’ve just trusted that you would understand.” She rubbed the back of her neck nervously. 

“I think we both need to be a little more open.” She felt something warm and comforting fill her chest as she smiled.

_ (I am thou… thou art I _

_ Thou hast acquired a new vow _

_ It shall become the wings of rebellion that breakth thy chains of captivity _

_ With the birth of the World persona. I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power) _

**Yu and Ren Narukami**

**Arcana:** World

**Rank 1:** A familial Connection (Shadows during negotiation might recognize you as related to the Trickster or the seeker of Truth)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> I want to thank my best friend she helped me design Maeko's phantom thief outfit. I was having some trouble designing her outfit, my biggest concern was not making her match Joker too much. I wanted some similarities, but nothing that's like just a female version of his outfit. While the coat is mention to look like Joker's there are small differences, making it match her attire more.   
> This is what I was trying to describe as her mask: https://m.alibaba.com/guide/shop/feather-flowers-mask-halloween-mask-venetian-black-water-ripples-mask-upper-half-face-mask-40pcs-lot-gf-001_55503560.html


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day with the Akechi's

Akechi waited by the front gate of Kosei high, his arms crossed. Looking down at his phone every so often. That when he saw the familiar dark brown bob and light brown eyes. The only thing that was out of place of her Kosei uniform was the black beanie she seemed to always wear and black chucks. Along with black leggings that covered her legs under her skirt.

“Nara.” He called to the teenager, her eyes lit up upon seeing him. 

“Akechi!” She hurried to meet up with him. He could feel his lips uplift a bit, he noticed as the girl pretended she didn’t up her pace upon seeing him. 

“How was your day?”

“I got 100% on a test.” She explained, adjusting her uniform. 

“I asked about your day, not your grades.” The man clarified. 

“S-sorry, it was fine. Same as usual.” Nara shrugged it off, and Akechi ignored the red flags that had raised. 

“Did you do anything interesting?” He asked awkwardly. 

“Not really...oh! I found a book in the library they brought in today.” She stopped and dug through her school bag for a moment. She handed over the book. 

“The Phantom Thieves of Heart by Mishima Yuuki.” He read aloud the cover. “I thought this has been out for a while.” He was sure of it in fact as he got a copy from Mishima, though Ren was the first one to get a copy. The man was extremely particular about everything that happened, he was there one time Ren got a call for some details of the book. He was on the phone for almost an hour. 

“It has, I just haven’t had a copy.” She admitted as he handed her back the book. 

“You could’ve asked me, I have a copy. It was a gift from the author.” He explained, she bit her lip. Looking down at the sidewalk, the man felt guilt hit him. “I just meant that it’s okay to ask me for things.” 

“O-okay Akechi…” She gave an uneasy smile. 

_ “I just want you to trust me…”  _ The man’s eyebrows furrowed as he thought quietly. 

Their quiet apartment greeted them when they returned home. Akechi let out a sigh of relief when they got there, the rest of their journey home was fairly quiet. He set down his work case and took off his coat. 

“What time would you like to have dinner?” He asked the teen.

“Anytime is fine.” Nara gave a polite smile, heading to her room. Once he heard the door shut, he let out a sigh. Rubbing his face with gloved hands. He thought about how Ren and Yu spoke to Maeko, how comfortable she was with them. He wished Nara trusted him like that and he understands why she wasn’t as open. They had only been living together for about five years, he just wanted her to know he was there. That he cared about her. 

Nara groaned when she made it into her room. 

_ “Why am I so awkward!?” _ She threw her school bag onto the floor. Collapsing onto her bed, she sighed as heavy thoughts fell on her. She sat up and took the book from her bag.  _ “This was one of Akechi’s big cases.”  _ She smiled softly and opened the book. The first page was a message to the phantom thieves, the author thanking them for saving him apparently twice. Giving a more specific message to the leader. As she had already done her homework at school, she settled in to read the book for as long as possible. 

_ “As the second case of Madarame came to a close. This was around the time the police and Goro Akechi had begun to investigate them.”  _ Nara’s mind was distracted when a knock came.

“Dinner is ready.” A voice announced to her.

“Coming!” She placed a bookmark in and headed to the dinner table. Dinner like always was silent for the most part. The two ate in awkward silence. “How was work today?” She suddenly asked him. “You said you left early.”

“I needed to help my friend with something. His daughter had gone missing, Nijima told me about it.” He explained softly. 

“Is she okay?” Nara asked with concerned eyes. 

“She’s alright, they just moved from the countryside, I think she ran from school…” 

_ “That’s pretty selfish isn’t it…”  _ She was unaware she had wrinkled her nose and made a face. Unaware of how ruby red eyes quietly observed her. 

“Do you like the book so far?” He looked back at his food. Nara nodded enthusiastically with a smile coming to her lips. 

“It’s really interesting, the author had apparently known them too.” She explained happily. A soft smile came to his lips as he watched her. 

“Do you mind if I ask you what you think of their methods?” Nara was silent and bit her lip thinking. 

“I think… while it helped people. It could end up being used the wrong way, changing someone’s heart is a lot.” 

“Interesting stance.” The brown-haired girl delt pride filled her chest after hearing his words. Suddenly, conversation began to flow easily between them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So personally I don't think Akechi as a teenager is stable enough mentally to have a partner, and I think even as an adult he would have a lot of things to work through before having a romantic partner. Nara is a special case, and you'll learn more about her and when Akechi took her in as his daughter later.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for me, I really like Personas having personalities and bonding with their user. There's probably going to be a lot more of that, especially with the past phantom thieves and their personas.

Maeko woke in the blue library once again. There were Igor and Jose just like last time. 

"Wonderful, truly marvelous.” The man at the desk praised her.

“It also seems like you’ve made your first bond!” The small boy added enthusiastically.

“Bond?” She looked at both of them curiously. 

“Personas are the power of the heart. Bonds will give you power!” Jose cheerfully explained, showing off a card. It had twenty-one at the top in Roman numerals. “The world arcana is a powerful one too.” 

_ “If I remember correctly that’s dad and papa,”  _ Maeko notes quietly. 

“We look forward to seeing how you will succeed in this endeavor.” The man at the desk added before she woke. 

“So are we not going to talk about it?” Saki immediately asked when they all met up the next day. “Come on! What the hell was that yesterday!?” 

“I don’t know, but it’s more trouble than it’s worth,” Maeko replied. 

“I agree, I’ve never seen my mom so emotional.” Jiro looked guilty as he thought back to the day before. 

“Come on! That was all so strange!” The blonde yelled in frustration. 

“We still have no business there.” The black-haired girl argued. “I scared my dads a lot yesterday. Let’s just go to school.” She basically begged, getting grumbles in return. 

“I’d like you all to greet our new student Narukami Maeko.” A woman with short black hair introduced her, however, she seemed rather bored with everything. 

“It’s nice to meet you all.” She bowed to the class. 

“Wow, look at her.” One voice spoke up. 

“Eh, not my type.” Another answered. 

“She's not as pretty as Satio.” 

_ “You’ve got to be kidding me right now.”  _ She rolled her light grey eyes. 

“Look at that bust though.” Someone said, causing her to blush. 

“Settle down! Narukami-chan takes the seat behind Okumura-kun.” The woman gestured with a lazy hand. She nodded, and quickly took her seat. Hoping her cheeks were no longer a bright red. 

_ “My boobs aren’t that big.”  _

“Don’t worry too much about what they say, they’re always like this with a transfer,” Jiro whispered to her. 

“Oh, okay… wait, there were others they said that stuff to.” Before she could get an answer the teacher shot them both an annoyed look. 

After a few hours of class and people staring at her. Lunch finally arrived. 

“Yo!” Saki came into their classroom, a wide smile, and a bento box. “We should sit on the roof, Rei will come and integrate us about yesterday if we don’t.” The blonde explained. 

“Okay, come with us Maeko.” 

The roof had a long chain-link fence circled around the roof. A table and chairs were there too. 

“So…” Maeko prepared for Saki to ask about the other world. “What do you guys have for lunch?” 

“Curry.” The other girl answered, getting a strange look in return. “My dad makes me curry sometimes when I had a bad day before.” The black-haired teen explained while opening a container of curry. 

“I want to talk about yesterday.” Jiro suddenly blurted out, shocking the other two. “I’m sorry! It’s just…”

“I feel the same way! I know you don’t want to talk about it Maeko, but you were the one who got that strange power.” The blonde reasoned. 

“I have no idea what that was, or what that world was…” 

**_“I can explain it to you, you know.”_ ** A deep female voice commented. It caused Maeko to jump in her seat. Auburn eyebrows furrowed as brown eyes looked at her confused. 

“You guys didn’t hear that?”

**_“Oh you foolish dear, only you can hear me in this world.”_ ** The voice purred. 

_ “Laverna?”  _

**_“Good job my dear, what do you want to know?”_ **

“Uh, Maeko are you okay?” Saki’s voice caught her attention. 

“I’m getting answers, I’ll explain after.” The black-haired girl simply said before focusing back on the voice in her head. 

**_“So you do wish to know. I am you, well your rebellion. In that world, you can call on my power.”_ ** The goddess explained. 

_ “Okay… but what is that world?” _

**_“A manifestation of a person’s desires. That’s all I know dear, I am not an expert on that world.”_ **

_ “Right, thank you.” _

**_“Aren’t you sweet.”_ ** Maeko opened her eyes and refocused on the two other teens.

“I was talking to Laverna.” She clarified to the other two. 

“Who?” The blonde raised an eyebrow. 

“Was that the person who was fighting with you?” Jiro asked. 

“Yeah, she said she was my rebellion. Also, that world is a manifestation of someone's desires.” 

“The hell does that mean?” Saki was the first to speak up, her arms crossed in anger. 

“Look that doesn’t matter. Let’s just drop this.” The black-haired girl insisted again. 

“Why do you want to stop investigating this!? This could be big!” The blonde argued. 

“Or it could get us killed.” The other girl shot right back, glaring.

“How about we settle this later…” Jiro brought up to them. 

“You want to know just like me!” The girl turned to him. 

“I want to know, but I feel that the danger isn’t worth it.” The auburn-haired boy tried to explain to her. 

“Whatever. I’ll be back, I’m going to buy something from the vending machine.” Before she could completely storm off Maeko grabbed her wrist. 

“I-I’m sorry… that was a little harsh…” 

“No… we could’ve died,” Saki added sadly. 

“Maybe we can investigate this later, but right now it’s not safe.” Jiro smiled at the two girls. 

“Yeah.” Maeko smiled at the blonde, getting a soft one from her. 

“Alright.”

Maeko walked in the backstreets of Yongen. Finding Leblanc easily, walking inside the cafe. Morgan perked up upon hearing the bell ring. 

“Hi Mona,” She smiled and began to scratch the cat behind his ear. The cat purring softly, rumbling like a car. “I guess dad isn’t here.” 

“No he’s at the grocery store, but I doubt this even helps.” The girl’s eyes widened when she heard someone respond. 

_ “That’s impossible, it’s just me and… Mona.”  _ She turned to the cat, narrowing her eyes at him. “Morgana… did you just say something?” Blue eyes widened as they stared at each other. 

“You… can hear me..?” 

“Yes… I can.” She responded with a slow nod. 

“That’s not possible! This should be impossible!” The cat yelled at her. 

“Oh, I know! Last time I checked, cats don’t talk!” She replied, clear panic in her eyes. 

“Look, I’ll explain later! I won’t tell your parents about this later either.” She raised an eyebrow at the black and white cat.

“What the hell does dad or papa have to do with this?” Before she could get an answer the bell attached to the door rang. 

“Oh Maeko, I didn’t know you were here.” The black-haired man smiled at her, he had grocery bags in his arms. 

“L-let me help.” She rushed over and took a bag away from him. 

“Thank you, I should’ve told you I would be going. How was your day?” He smiled at his daughter as he placed things into the small fridge. 

“Oh! It was good.” She handed him something from the bag she had. 

“How do you feel about Shujin?” 

“It’s… okay…” 

“I know, it’s not Yosagami.” He gave a sympathetic smile. 

“Well it’s not all bad, Jiro and Saki are nice.” 

“I'm glad you’ve made some friends… seriously Mae.” He stopped and gave his daughter a serious look. “A life without bonds is a dangerous one, and you deserve a good life.” He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and gave a soft smile. 

“Yo Ren!” A voice interrupted them. Futaba was at the door. “I found something of yours… I was going through Sojiro’s stuff…” The relaxed tone became tense. She handed him a small journal, the man brushed his hands over the leather. 

“Woah is that?” Morgana jumped onto Maeko’s shoulder, looking over it. She tried to ignore his voice, it was still odd to hear him talk. 

“Yeah, it’s my journal from my probation.” He opened it and smiled. There were just little notes. “Spent time with Futaba, played video games.” He read out some of the notes. This brought a small smile to the woman. “Hey… you wanna talk outside?” Ren asked gently, the woman nodded. She looked on the verge of tears, he quickly moved outside. 

“So, you’ve been to the metaverse?”’ Morgana suddenly asked the teenage girl. 

“I think so… is that what it’s called?” 

“Did a weird app show up on your phone?”

“Yeah! It showed up the night we arrived in Tokyo.” 

“So you really have the metanav… this can’t be good,” Morgana mumbled to himself. “Take me to school with you tomorrow.”

“Excuse me? Do you want me to get in trouble? Dad and papa have already had enough of my drama.” Maeko crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. 

“You won’t get in trouble, your dad used to do it all the time. Also, you know they care about you Mae…” Concerned blue eyes looked at her. 

“All I’m saying is they’ve had enough of my shit.” 

“Language.” Ren simply said after he entered the cafe. “Might I remind you, Narukami Maeko you are my daughter. It’s my job and pleasure to deal with your ‘shit.’” He gestured with air quotes, kissing the girl on her forehead. “Who were you talking to?”

“I uh… I like to talk to Mona when we’re alone.”

“Oh! And you always make fun of Yu and me when we talk to Morgana.” 

“Cause it’s weird!” She tried to argue only to have the man laugh lightheartedly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think and thank you for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

Maeko shook her head as she was on the train. 

“I can’t believe I’m doing this…” She mumbled to herself.

“I’m telling you, no one will notice or care,” Morgana explained like it was simple. 

“You know. You say that, but I don’t believe you.” 

“Well, it’s more obvious when you’re talking to your bag in public.” The cat commented smugly. She tousled the bag as a response. “H-hey!” He heard nothing else from the girl. “Don’t ignore me!” 

“I thought bags weren’t supposed to talk.” Blue eyes glared at her as she smirked. Finally getting off the train, putting her bag on her shoulder. 

“New Girl,” a familiar voice called to her. She turned to see the girl from the day before. 

“Satio-chan correct? I’m Narukami Maeko... I have a name.” Light grey eyes narrowed a bit. 

“Look, this little bit of spotlight you’ve had ends now.” The other girl pointed a painted finger at her classmate. To which Maeko only raised an eyebrow. 

“What are you talking about?” 

“Don’t play dumb! I’m an idol you know? I could destroy you and your family.” She flipped her hair, trying to emphasize her point. Light grey eyes rolled at the threat. 

“Yeah, sure.” Maeko turned and headed in the direction of the school. 

“Wow, you were surprisingly calm.”

“What can she realistically do? Think about it Mona, Dad’s criminal record was cleared years ago, and Papa is literally squeaky clean.” She explained to the cat quietly. 

“These things are much easier when you don’t have to worry about going to jail,” Morgana mumbled quietly to himself. “I’ll explain later.” He added partially sensing the strange look he was getting from the girl. The cat suddenly made a loud gagging sound. 

“Mona!?”

“GAH! I never had to worry about being choked with Ren’s hair!” Maeko began to laugh, and smile brightly. “Don’t laugh damnit!” 

Maeko walked up to the roof, opening the door to see the other two teens. 

“Yo!” Saki smiled and waved to her.

“Hey, I think I’ve got some information on that weird world.” She placed down her bag, curious eyes looking at her. Morgana leaves the bag, stretching a little before sitting towards them. 

“Uh, Maeko-chan why do you have a cat with you?” Jiro looked at her with curious eyes. 

“Morgana apparently knows about that world.” She rubbed the back of her neck. 

“What did he tell you that?” Saki crossed her and raised an eyebrow. 

“So you’ve all been to the metaverse?” The cat asked with a serious look. The other two teen’s eyes widened. 

“D-did that cat just talk!?” The blonde asked, looking at the other two teens. 

“I-I heard him.” The other teen added with shock. 

“So have you been able to talk the whole time?” Maeko asked, meaning her parents might not know. She wasn't sure especially with how they spoke with the cat constantly. 

“Yup, you just couldn’t understand me.” The cat explained. 

“Does that mean dad and papa know you can talk?” 

“Yes, all your parents can understand me.” He nodded. 

“For real!?” The blonde yelled loudly. 

“So that means that they’ve all been to that world right?” Jiro brought up. 

“Correct, you and Mae catch on pretty fast. It was in fact during their third and second years of high school.”

“Wait! They were in school around the time the phantom thieves were big in Tokyo, does that mean…” Saki stood up, shaking the table a bit. 

“If you're asking if your parents were the phantom thieves, they were. Well everyone except Yu he was a part of something else, but that’s his story to tell.” 

“They were the phantom thieves…” Maeko began quietly. 

“That’s…” Jiro thought quietly. 

“Awesome! Holy shit!” Saki jumped up excited. “Think about it! Our parents kicking corrupt adult asses! That’s so cool!” 

“It's kinda hard to imagine, Dad is so I don’t know.” Maeko searched her head for the right word. 

“Quiet? Not really the type of person who’d go out and do those things?’ Morgana asked with smugness to his voice. 

“Yeah… honestly.” 

“Well, your dad was our leader! Our Joker!” The cat happily exclaimed. 

“He was the leader..? Wait, Joker?”

“Codenames! Can’t go around yelling everyone’s names.” 

“That’s so cool!” Saki commented, Maeko swore there were stars in her eyes.

“So my grandfather…” Jiro suddenly spoke up. Morgana’s bright blue eyes turned regretful.

“What happened to your grandfather was a tragedy… Everyone involved regrets it. Even the one who actually killed him.” The cat explained softly. “Your mother wanted to change his heart, but there was a plot against us. Your grandfather was unfortunately their way of framing us.” 

“Right… I forgot about that.” Maeko’s own light grey eyes became downcast. 

“Do any of you have a persona?” Morgana decided to suddenly ask, changing the subject. 

“I do.” The black-haired girl raised her hand. 

“Not surprised, I imagine you guys are curious about that world… but the metaverse is very dangerous.” The black and white cat thought aloud. 

“What if I protected everyone?” Maeko suddenly asked. 

“Mae…” 

“She protected us before!” Saki was quick to jump in with the other girl’s line of thinking. 

“Well, whose palace is it?” 

“Satio Fumiko, she’s such an asshole.” The blonde wrinkled her nose, crossing her arms. 

“Being an asshole isn’t enough to have a palace.” Morgana narrowed his eyes at the girl. 

“There are rumors that she’s blackmailing smaller idols.” Jiro suddenly jumped in. 

“Really?” Maeko looked to the other teen, a worried look coming to her face. 

“Well, we have no way of proving that for sure.” Saki sighed loudly. 

“We do, my aunts are idols.” The black-haired teen quickly took out her phone. 

“Also the palace might confirm our suspicions,” Morgana added. 

**Maeko:** Are aunt Rise and big sis tour?

**Papa:** No, why?

**Maeko:** I was thinking about visiting them at their studio

**Maeko:** That’s all

**Papa:** Oh! Okay

**Papa:** Just let me know if you want to

“Big sis and aunt Rise are still in Tokyo.” Maeko turned to Mona. 

“So can we go?” Saki asked excitedly. 

“Fine!” The cat grumbled. 

“Alright!”

The three stood in the alleyway, watching as people passed by. Maeko did as Morgana instructed, taking out her phone and pressed the app. The world around the four shifts and changes. The four turned to see a tall grand series of buildings. At the top of the mountain, there were lights that waved from side to side. The name Satio Fumiko was in bright big light like you would see in Hollywood in America.

“Wow, this is pretty big,” Morgana commented, staring up at the tall mountain. 

“So what exactly does all this mean?” Maeko asked, looking up to the name and lights. 

“Woah, you’re in that outfit again.” Saki was quick to point out. The other girl looked at her confused before looking down, and sure enough, it was the same dress and coat from the last time. 

“I underestimated how bad this distortion would be.” The cat mumbled to himself quietly. 

“Well, what are we waiting for! Let’s get the information you want so badly and get out.” Saki began to walk ahead of the group. 

“Uh! That isn’t safe!” Maeko ran to catch up with the blonde. 

“The both of you need to wait!” Morgana yelled at the two girls, Jiro following behind him as they rushed up the mountain. 

The four hid behind a pillar peaking into one of the small temple-like structures. Two black creatures that seemed to be in the shape of worshippers walked by them. Not taking notice of them.

“You two need to be more careful.” Morgana glared at the two girls. “Maeko can at least protect herself from shadows.” 

“Wait, shh.” The black-haired girl simply replied. When the cat looked back into the building. 

“Satio’s shadow…” The three teens gave the small creature a confused look but said nothing. They watched as what looked like a real girl fell to the fake Satio’s feet. 

“Did you do it?” She asked the other teen on the floor. 

“Y-yes, will you leave me alone now!?” The girl on the floor didn’t have any defending features. A sinister smile came to the teen’s lips. 

“You were only a stepping stone, soon I’ll have Risette and Kanami at my feet.” 

“What..?” Maeko whispered to herself. “We should go.” The others beside her nodded in agreement. 

“I mean that doesn’t exactly prove blackmail,” Jiro noted quietly as they stood back where they were when they entered the strange dimension. 

“Well, we can still talk to aunt Rise and big sis. We have tomorrow off right?” Maeko brought up to the others. 

“Cool, but… I don’t want to go home yet.” Saki causally mentions. “Wait, your dad owns Leblanc now right?”

“Uh yeah, I think he’s planning to officially open it soon.” The black-haired girl added quietly. 

“Then we should go! I could seriously go for some curry.” 

“I don’t know…” 

“I agree, coffee would be nice as well.” Jiro interrupted. 

“Maybe you should warn him.” Morgana chuckled, looking up to the teenage girl. 

“Probably, it seems like nothing will change their minds.” Despite the annoyed tone she had, a smile graced her pale lips. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My sister helped me design more of the palace, my thought process was the first time they were in the palace they were in such a rush they didn't notice the details. The palace is based on the Acropolis if you're interested.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maeko, Jiro, Saki, and Morgana visits old and new idols to confirm their suspicions about Satio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it's been a while. Also next character more people will get their personas, I promise. Stuff will start happening.

“Alright dad, papa! I’ll be back.” She called to them, she was wearing a white sweater and black jeans. A simple necklace with a red and yellow jewel as the end around her neck. 

“Tell Rise and Nanako we say hi!” Yu’s voice called to her. 

“I will!” She shut the door, checking her bag for her phone. 

“You know, you can just ask me for that stuff right?” Morgana popped out the bag with her phone in his mouth. 

“Thank you and I’m just not used to this. That’s all.” She shrugged it off as she opened a new chat. Jiro and Saki had given her their phone numbers yesterday before they went home after Leblanc. 

**Maeko:** I’m heading to the train station

**Saki:** Ugh! My mom and dad kept me for a bit

**Jiro:** Oh! I’m already in Shibuya

**Saki:** SERIOUSLY!?   
**Maeko:** You haven’t been waiting this whole time have you?

**Jiro:** It’s really no big deal 

"Holy shit! This is actually the building Risette works in.” Saki looked at the building with shock.

“Maeko-chan!” A man opened the door and smiled at her. 

“Hey Inoue-san, is aunt Rise and big sis here today?” She asked, waving to the man while smiling. 

“They are, however, Nanako-chan is currently in an interview.” The man explained, his hair was mostly grey. 

“We can wait, these are my friends. Okrumra Jiro and Sakamoto Saki.” She explained as she walked towards the door. 

“Oh! Nice to meet you Sakamoto-chan and Okrumra-kun, I’m Inoue.” He welcomed the two teens in. 

Jiro didn’t seem too bothered by the building as they walked through, the same with Saki. 

“It’s like mom’s modeling agency.” The blonde thought aloud quietly. The man opened the door to an interviewer and a woman with long dark brown hair. She wore a pink costume, it looked like something a magical girl in an anime would wear. 

“One last question Nana.” The interviewer assures her as she looks through a notebook. “What inspired this song? And what’s with the naming?”

“Well, Heaven is mainly based on a few years after my mother died. My dad was drowning himself in work and I remember being extremely lonely.” Her eyes softened. “But things got better, my brother came to live with us for the year. He became part of the family!” A bright smile came to her face. 

“That’s all we had, thank you Nanako-chan.” The interviewer bowed at the woman. 

“Of course!” The cameraman and woman left with that. The woman’s face brightens immediately upon seeing Maeko. “Mea!” She ran up to the teen and hugged her tightly. Her heels made her tower over the girl. 

“I missed you, big sis.” Maeko sighed happily as they hugged. 

“I’ve been meaning to visit, I just haven’t had the time.” She sighed out. “How’s Kana, is he adjusting to Tokyo okay?” 

“He is… better than I did.” 

“Aww, Mae.” She hugged the other even tighter. 

“Oh, big sis. These are my friends Saki and Jiro.” Maeko moved away and gestured to the others with her. 

“It’s nice to meet you again!” She stood straight and waved at the two. “Let’s go find Rise.” The woman guided the teens to a room with not only Rise but also Kanami. “Hey! Guess who’s here!?” 

“Huh? Maeko!” Rise pulled her in a hug. Kanami pulled her into another one right after the elder woman was done. 

“I missed you guys.” She smiled at the two women. 

“We've been so busy lately.” Kanami sighs a little, but a smile forms. “Don’t tell your dads but we’ve been planning to do a surprise visit.” 

“I won't tell promise, but I came here to talk to you guys about something else.” Maeko clarified.

“What’s up?” Rise asked, taking a seat. 

“Satio Fumiko just started going to our school. We were curious about the rumors about her.” She explained to the women. 

“We wanted to know if you knew anything.” Jiro clarified to them. 

“Oh yeah Satio-Chan, didn’t really have a great experience with her.” The woman in pigtails sighed out. 

“She was full of herself.” Rise added with annoyance. 

“Uh a little, but I think she meant well.” 

"She and her parents totally don’t! I heard she’s blackmailing smaller idols at her agency.” 

“That's what we’re trying to find out, damn it!” Saki yelled loudly. 

“She is…” Nanako suddenly spoke up with a sigh. 

“Big sis?” Maeko was hesitant.

“She tried to blackmail me. I didn’t cave, that upset her, we aren’t even in the same agency and she attempted it.” The young woman explained to them. 

“That can’t be good,” Morgana whispered from her bag. 

“That’s awful Nanako.” Kanami put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. 

“Sorry to bother you, big sis,” Maeko said quietly, words seem to be stuck in her throat. 

“It’s no problem at all Mae, we love when you visit.” The woman reassured her with a smile.

“That confirms it…” Saki says quietly as they walk into the hall. 

“I still don’t know if this is a good idea.” Maeko rubbed his neck uncomfortably.

“We can’t do this without you, think about it some more.” Jiro softly smiled at her, making more insecurities form in her. 

"Hey, dad…” Maeko spoke up, the black-haired man looked up from his food curious. “You were in Tokyo when the phantom thieves were big right?” 

“Yes, why?” ” He placed down his fork looking at his daughter. 

“I-I wanted to know what you and papa thought of them.” She admitted, she adjusted uncomfortably. 

“Well…” Ren struggled to say anything, looking to his husband with pleading eyes. 

“I think Tokyo needed them. You know how much corruption there was at the time right?” Yu began, getting a nod in return. 

“Congressman Shido was attempting to become prime minister, he framed the phantom thieves and several others.” She explained from memory. 

“That’s more than what I was expecting,” Ren mumbled to himself. 

“I asked aunt Naoto to tell me more about him, he accused you of assault after all.” She brought up. Kana looked between them all confused. 

“Right… she has access to those things…” Ren had explained to his daughter what had happened to him, and that he wasn’t ashamed. He made it clear that her parents would always be by her side. 

“I actually think it’s very similar to your dad’s situation. They were doing good and not turning a blind eye to those things.” Yu grabbed his husband’s hand gently. 

“He’s not wrong… it’s not easy to do those things. Avoiding your eyes to things like that will only hurt you in the end.” The two men seemed to be confident in their answers. Giving each other a soft smile. 

“Thank you… I-I was just curious.” She explained to them. 

**Maeko:** I’ve decided

**Maeko:** Morgana and I will change Saito's heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Nanako is a recent idol and is getting fame from the song Heaven she just released.


	8. Chapter 8

“We should really have a bigger team than just us,” Morgana advised the girl.

“Well, it’s just us. I don’t want to put Saki and Jiro in danger. Dad is still trying to make Leblanc ready for the reopening and Papa already missed a day of work for me.” Maeko explained to the cat like it should be common sense. 

“I guess, but there are still others we can talk to.”

“Mona, they are all probably busy with their own lives.” She responded as she took out her phone, pressing the app. Being transported to the temple. “Alright, where to first?”

“We’ll find the treasure and create a route to it.” The cat explained to her. She nodded in understanding. “While we’re at it I’ll teach you some things about the metaverse and palaces.” Maeko nodded as they began to run through the temple. 

Maeko was starting to get a hang of everything, and if she was being honest this was exhilarating. She couldn’t help the confident smirk that slowly came to her lips as she took out shadows. 

“Laverna! Destroy them!” The teenage girl pointed to the shadow, a dark black and red flame consumed it. 

“You're pretty good at this, like your dad.” Mona smiled thinking of the man. “Ha, kinda takes me back.” 

“Let’s keep going.” The cat nodded and they continued through the large temple. “This is Saito's cognition right?” She suddenly asked him. 

“Yes, this is how she views the world.”

“So she sees herself as a goddess of shujin?” 

“Correct. Something bothering you?” The cat asked her, an eyebrow raised.

“N-no, I’m just thinking. That’s all.” She shrugged it off. Something about the place was bothering her, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. 

“I can’t believe her!” Saki stomped next to Jiro in anger

“Do you think she and Morgana will be okay?” He asked softly, the blonde stopped to look at her friend. 

“I mean… Morgana knows what he’s doing. Maeko handled herself the first time we went.” She tried to reassure him, but her voice didn’t have her normal confidence. 

“I just wish we could help.” He lamented, his eyes looking down at his feet. 

“If only we had that app. Maybe we could go after her,” Saki offered as an idea. Jiro doesn’t know what compelled him to check his phone, he could only describe it as a strange feeling. He opened his phone and the app stared back at him. 

“We need to help her.” Saki gave a nod in return. 

**“So you’re the one who has been running around my sacred temple.”** Shadow Satio had a sadistic smile as she stepped on Mona’s back. 

“Let him go.” Her eyebrows furrowed as she glared at the shadow.

**“Or what? My followers will deal with you.”** Out of nowhere shadows appeared and encircled Maeko. “Soon you’ll be kneeling like the rest.” 

“Run Maeko! You can’t take them all on!” Morgana yelled before the shadow dug her heel into Mona’s back even more. 

“No, I can’t leave you! Laverna!” She pulled the mask off. “Eiha!” The dark red and black flames did nothing to the shadows. “W-what?” Her light grey eyes widened with shock and fear. 

**“What? Scared? How pathetic.”** Satio’s shadow smirked at her. 

“Cleave!” The goddess slashed the shadow, with little success. The shadow retaliated, bringing the girl down to her knees. 

**“Soon my temple will be rid of your filth.”** She looked down on the other teen. She placed her hand on her hip, as she smiled sadistically. 

“Stop!” A male voice cut in. 

**“What the hell is it now?”** Her lip lifted in disgust, looking towards the entrance of the room. Jiro and Saki stood next to the large pillars. 

“What are you guys doing here!? You need to go!” Maeko struggled to look at the other two. 

“We can’t leave you!” Jiro ran to her, putting himself in front of her. Saki ran beside her, going to help her up. 

**“Aren’t you just adorable Okumura-kun? You think you can actually do something?”** She grinned, the white cloth only making her harder to read.  **“Gonna have mother do it for you? All you ever do is sit and be a good boy. Why don’t you do that now?”** Each word struck him, he hesitated for a moment. Unsure of what to do or even say. 

“So what!? That doesn’t mean he can’t stand up and show his true self now.” Maeko glared at the shadow. She struggled to stand, putting her arm against her stomach to try and stand. Saki had a hand around her arm to try and help the black-haired girl up. 

**“Really? You think that’s all it-”**

“Shut up!” The teen suddenly yelled at the shadow. 

“Jiro?” The blonde asked in shock. 

“I won’t stay quiet if my friends are in danger. I especially won’t let someone like you look down on us!” 

**_“At long last, you hear my call.”_ ** He could hear a male voice in his head. His brown eyes widened in shock, he gripped his head in pain.  **_“Hear me now, I am thou, thou art i… Gentle soul, find your anger and rage, use it! No one will underestimate you again.”_ ** Jiro wordlessly gripped onto the mask that had appeared on his face. Using all his might to rip it off in a splatter of blood. His breath was heavy as blue flames changed what he was wearing. A blue small cape appeared on his shoulder, the uniform sweater had changed to black leather with buckles closing it. His pants now a simple brown with black boots. Each boot had a simple golden buckle. A cavalier hat now on his head, black with a white feather and blue ribbon. A belt was now around his waist, a fencing sword with a golden handle now in his hand. Behind him a ghostly figure floated, with its own cavalier hat, its face obscured by it. A tabard with a cross was around its neck, going to its hips. A belt slanted just before the rest of its body disappears into nothing. 

“Let’s show just how fierce we can be D'artagnan!” He pointed the sword at the shadow. A blue mask on his face, the edge of it having spiraling golden designs on the edges. “I request a duel.” A smirk came to his face as Maeko joined him, finally standing. 

**“Hm, whatever… take care of them, my followers.”** She crossed her arm, glaring at the two. 

“Dia!” Green sparkling magic surrounded Maeko. She felt as if her injuries were gone. 

“Laverna! Tarukaja!” Jiro felt a boost in his power. “Take them out Jiro.” 

“Bufu!” The shadow fell as ice froze it up. The team of two quickly took down the shadows. “I’m not just some quiet push over you can walk all over.” He glared at the shadow. Saito's shadow scoffed annoyed. 

**“You can have your stupid cat.”** She kicked Morgana over to the teen. 

“Mona!” Maeko ran to make sure he was okay. She picked him up, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“I-I’m okay, I’ve been through worse.” He tried to reassure her. 

“Here, we brought this with us.” Saki pulled out some medicine from her pocket. 

“Thank you… both of you.” She smiled brightly at the other teens. 

“I couldn’t just leave you behind. I can’t leave my friends behind.”

_ (I am thou… thou art I _

_ Thou hast acquired a new vow _

_ It shall become the wings of rebellion that breakth thy chains of captivity _

_ With the birth of the Emperor persona. I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power) _

**Jiro Okumura**

**Arcana:** Emperor

**Rank 1**

“Let’s just hurry out of here,” Maeko replied tiredly. This day was already a lot, she could already feel the bruises all over her body. Saki let the black-haired girl lean on her as they made their way to the entrance of the palace. 

“I’m home,” Maeko called and winced a little as she moved through the house. Sighing loudly as she sat down her bag, Morgana hopped out of the bag. 

“Welcome home.” She was a little shocked to hear her papa’s voice. 

“You’re home early.” The teen notes as she takes off her shoes. Wincing quietly as she bent over. 

“Are you okay? Did you get hurt at school?” Sliver eyebrows furrowed with concern. 

“I’m fine, I just have a bruise that’s all.” She smiled at him reassuringly. 

“Okay, we have some ointment in the cabinet upstairs. I’ll go get it for you Mae.” She heard his feet pad up the soft carpet on the stairs.

“You know they aren’t dumb. They're going to notice something weird is going on.” Morgana brings up to her. 

“They got away with it when they were my age.” Maeko shrugs in response. 

“Well, their parents didn’t care quite as much. Not to mention your dad was on probation and Dojima was always gone.” The cat narrowed his eyes at the girl. 

“Here sweetheart.” She was distracted by her father, he held out the bottle of ointment to her. 

“Thank you, papa.” She smiled softly and took it. “Papa…” The man’s light grey eyes looked at his daughter. 

“Mae? Everything okay?” His voice came out concerned. 

“Y-yeah… I’m fine.” She gave him a tight smile. His eyebrows furrowed, but he nodded.

“Okay, you know you can tell anything, right?”

“Of course… I love you, papa.”

“Love you too Mae.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this took so long! It took me a bit to get the details right and I wanted. Even then I'm not quite sure if I got what I wanted across. I really hope you liked this chapter! Things are happening, more arcanas will be introduced and more people will get their personas. Also! Codenames!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took forever to write, but I'm pretty happy with it. Also, it might take me a bit for the next chapter since I preorder Strikers. I thought it would be here by now, unfortunately, it isn't yet. Still, I'm extremely excited to play it.

Saki leaned on her elbow, her chin resting in her hand. She slowly chewed her food, deep in thought. 

“Saki?” She looked to her mother’s kind blue eyes. “Everything okay?” 

“Yeah girly, you’ve been a little quiet.” Her dad added with a concerned look of his own. 

“I’m good! Just got a bad score on a test.” She nervously smiled. 

“Aww, that’s alright! Your dad and I weren’t the smartest in class either.” The blonde woman tried to reassure her. 

“Naw, all you were good at was English.” 

“Better that than be bad at everything.” She simply replied, making her husband clam up. “That’s what I thought. Anyways, why don’t you and Jiro study together.”

“Maeko might want to too. Her dads are seriously smart like Ren used to scare me a bit back in high school smart.”

“What we’re saying is you don’t have to do it alone,” Ann explained to her daughter. She smiled at her and Saki gave her one back. Feeling a little better after the conversation. 

**Maeko:** We need a real plan

**Maeko:** Being this disorganized will get one of us killed

**Jiro:** I agree, we’ve been putting our lives in too much danger

**Saki:** But it turned out just fine

**Saki:** Jiro got his persona and now he can help you out

**Saki:** What’s the damn problem?  
**Maeko:** It worked out last time, but it won’t always. Saki it’s too dangerous for you

**Saki:** This is messed up! I want to help damn it!

**Jiro:** I have to agree with Maeko, it isn’t safe

“Do you think she is upset with us?” Jiro asked Maeko as they met up in front of the school. 

“Probably, I know she looks up to the phantom thieves. We just can’t let her go into that palace like it isn't dangerous.” A sigh left her mouth as she saw her friend’s guilty look. “We can talk to her later okay?” 

“I think you might be right Maeko. Saki is a lot more like Ryuji, she might be more bullheaded than we think.” Morgana adds his two cents as he pops out from the girl’s bag. 

“That’s rude Mona, we know Saki means well.” She scolded the cat. 

“All I’m saying is if she’s anything like both lady Ann and Ryuji she’ll be a lot more determined than you expect.” He explains to the two teens. 

“I can understand where Morgana is coming from, Saki is a little brash at times.” Jiro sighs in thought. 

“Let’s just see her after school.”

“Sakamoto-senpai!” A voice yelled for the blonde-haired girl. Despite her bad mood, she gave a smile to the first-year that called her name.

“I wanted to thank you for talking to me last practice.” A first-year with black hair in a braid ran up to her. 

“Of course! We should totally hang out.” She gave a smile to the other girl. “Uh, do we have practice today..?” Saki asks the younger girl nervously. 

“I thought you knew we did senpai?” The younger teen looked confused as she turned to the elder. 

“Must’ve slipped my mind.” She laughed it off. 

“Also I heard your mom was Sakamoto Ann…” The elder teen fought to not roll her eyes. “I imagine life is much easier with a model for a mom. That’s probably where you got your looks.” The other teen noted quietly seeming to be a little jealous. 

“It’s really not a big deal.” She brushed it off. 

“It’s not like your mom is an idol or something.” A familiar voice interrupted them. 

“What the hell do you want Satio?” The blonde rolled her eyes. 

“Tell you and your little friends to meet me on the roof at lunch.” Satio had a smirk that made the other girl a little uneasy. 

**Saki:** Satio wants to meet us at lunch

**Jiro:** Does she know we’ve been to the palace?

“That’s not how it works. She doesn’t know what happens in her palace.” Morgana brings up from her desk. 

**Maeko:** Mona said it doesn’t work that way

**Saki:** Well then what the hell does she want?

**Jiro:** Should we be worried?

**Maeko:** Let’s not panic

**Maeko:** I doubt there’s much we can do

The group of three awkwardly met up. Waiting on the roof for the other teen. 

“Saki… we know you want to help but…” Jiro began awkwardly. 

“It’s fine Jiro.” She simply replied. 

“Oh good, you’re all here.” Satio’s voice interrupted them. 

“And what exactly was it you wanted?” Saki spoke up, crossing her arms. Giving the other girl a look of disgust. 

“Ugh Sakamoto, you’re so dramatic.” The girl rolled her eyes, flipping her teal hair. “But I did find a little something about your parents. Let’s start with Narukami-chan shall we?” The confident smirk on her face made the other teens nervous. “Narukami Ren was arrested his first year.”

“He was falsely arrested and was later found innocent. You’re gonna need to do better than Shido falsely accusing my dad.” Maeko furrowed her grey eyes at the other teen. 

“Oh I’m not done. Narukami was later arrested for something else, I couldn’t quite figure out what it was for. However, that would be enough to make people no longer trust… What was the cafe? Leblanc?” The black-haired girl felt her hands form into a fist. 

“Why the hell are you even doing this? Maeko has done nothing to you.” Saki snapped at the other teen. 

“You want to really know? I don’t like any of you, I want you out of my school in two weeks.” Purple eyes narrowed at the group. 

“You cannot just force us out and even then Saki and I mothers have influence,” Jiro spoke up with cold confidence. 

“You really think Okrumra foods has no dirt I can dig up? Not to mention if a big idol happened to spread some accusations about a certain model well then there would be problems.” 

“No one would back you up! My mom hasn’t done shit and people like her.” The blonde growled at Satio. 

“Maybe I haven’t made myself clear, If I come out about Sakamoto Ann, tons of others will.”

“What are you-”

“Saki, we don’t know how many idols she has under her blackmail. She could make them say anything she wanted.” Maeko clarified with a glare sent at the idol. “So even if the stuff she says about our parents are lies, she’ll have a ton of idols supporting her.” 

“Look at that! Narukami has caught on! Did you get those brains from your dad who was sent to jail?” A smirk graced her lipstick-covered lips. 

“You bitch!” Jiro and Maeko moved quickly to stop the blonde from attacking the other girl. “Let me go! She’s trying to do shit to our families!” 

“Saki you’re being dumb!” Jiro blurted out to his friend. The blonde stopped and looked at the other teen with shock. 

“While the way he said it was a little harsh, Jiro is right. If you attack Satio she’ll just have ammo to get you expelled.” Maeko explained, her light grey eyes glaring at the teal-haired teen. Saki was silent as she seemed to go limb, almost numb. “I just want you to know one thing, you aren’t getting away with this.” The girl chuckled at the black-haired teen's threat. 

“That’s cute, but why would anyone stand against me? I'm just an idol, everyone loves me.” She brushed off the threat and headed down the stairs back into the school. 

“So much for not having a deadline.” Morgana finally spoke up, peeking his head out Maeko’s bag that had been left at one of the tables on the roof. 

“You guys have to let me help! This is my family she’s threatening too!” 

“That doesn’t change how dangerous it is.” Morgana is quick to bring up to the girl.

“Well I-!” The girl struggled to find her words. As she looked between the three. 

“We can handle it, Saki, you don’t have to worry.” Maeko tried to reassure her with a soft smile and a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

“Sakamoto, pay attention.” The blonde had eaten dirt. Tripping over her own two feet. She groaned as she stood. 

“Sorry coach.” She huffed out a quiet sigh, she couldn’t stop thinking of Jiro and Maeko. She wanted to help, she hated feeling useless. Not to mention her mom was in danger, her mom worked so hard.  _ “I just want to help… you know what! I’ll help whether they like it or not!”  _ A smile came to her lips as she thought of it. “Uh coach, my mom just texted me she’s here. I’ve got to go.” She lied to the women, 

“Alright Sakamoto, this better not become a habit- and she’s gone.” The woman shook her head but smiled. 

Saki changed into her uniform as fast as she could. She knew for a fact that Maeko and Jiro were going back into the palace. The blonde teen threw her bag on her shoulder and ran out of the locker room. Almost knocking into a teacher. 

“Sorry!” She ran off with a quick apology. A man with brown hair let out a sigh but waved at her with a smile. She couldn’t hear his reply as she shot down the hall. 

“Alright, you two need codenames.” Morgana declared just as they arrived in the metaverse. 

“Oh, I remember you saying our parents had codenames. My dad was Joker right?” 

“So what should ours be?” Jiro asked, looking at the cat curious. 

“Uhh... Joker usually came up with them…” He admitted to the two teens. 

“Well um, how about Prince for Jiro?” Maeko suddenly offers. 

“Why Prince?” The other teen asks, raising an auburn eyebrow. 

“You just seem so regale in your outfit, and princely.” The black-haired teen struggled to explain her thinking. 

“I like it, but what about you?” Light grey eyes narrowed in thought. 

“We can worry about that a little later, I have something for you two.” Morgana pulled out two guns. 

“Mona! Where the hell did you get guns!?” 

“From the attic of Leblanc.” he simply said, handing the girl a pistol. It seemed a little dusty. He handed a revolver to the other teen. “We can pick out guns that suit you better later.” 

“This still doesn’t explain why you have guns.”

“They aren’t real, they're models. They work on shadows because they are so convincing, but harmless in the real world. We’ll need them for hold-ups.” He explains to the teens. The two looked at him confused but followed when he took off in the direction of the palace. Mona quickly getting into a battle with a shadow. Taking it down with its weakness of wind, it looked like a blue demon in a jar. “Follow my lead.” The group of three surrounded the shadow, putting their guns at it. “Ask it for something.”

“Uh give us some money.” Maeko tried to fake confidence as she stared down at the shadow. 

**_“Uh… I don’t have any on me.”_ ** A childish voice answered nervously. 

“I guess you can go.” The teen shrugged it off.

**_“Oh! You’re so nice!”_ ** The shadow cheers happily.  **_“Wait… I’m remembering something. I am thou, thou art I, my true name is Agathion.”_ ** The three watched as the shadow turned into a mask and fused with the mask already on Maeko’s face. 

“What the hell just happened?” She asked with wide grey eyes. 

“You're a wildcard!” Morgana suddenly exclaimed in shock. 

“And what does that mean?” Jiro asks, still just as confused as the other teen. 

“Maeko can summon multiple personas, and I just thought of a codename for her.” The two waited for the cat to continue. “Ace! It’s like Joker, you're a trump card.” 

“So it’s Ace and Prince. What’s yours Mona?” Maeko finally brought up.

“Mona.”

“That’s it? A nickname that everyone calls you?” An embarrassed blush came to his cheeks, 

“Hey! Your parents came up with it!” Morgana brings up to her and pouts. 

“We should keep going, that treasure isn’t going to find itself.” Prince brings up to the two. 

“You’re right, let's go.” Ace confirms with a nod. A small smirk forming on her lips. 

Saki quietly listened as the shadows passed by her hiding spot. 

_ “Those damn things are everywhere.”  _ She noted when she heard heels on the marble floor. 

**“I did exactly as you said, there’s no way they can get out of this one. They’ll be gone from the school in no time.”** Shadow Satio’s voice echoed through the empty halls. 

_ “Who is she talking to?”  _ She tried to move to see a little better. 

**_“Intruder!”_ ** The blonde turned to see a shadow pointing to her. 

“Shit!” She took off running as fast as she could. 

**“Stop her you, idiots!”**

“Hey, the security level just went up,” Mona notes, the two teens looked at the cat. 

“Someone else is here.” Ace adds with a nod. 

“We need to help them.” Prince already took off down the hall to the noise. 

“Prince wait!” Ace took off after him, leaving the cat. 

“Joker and Skull were never this bad…” Mona sighs aloud before going after both of them. 

“Saki!?” The auburn teen shouts in shock. A group of shadows followed after the short-blonde-haired girl. 

“Get behind us.” Ace yells as she takes a battle stance, Prince doing the same. 

“There’s too many, you’ll need help.” She insists. 

“Saki it’s too dangerous.” 

**“You heard her Sakamoto, you're useless. Besides, you can do anything to help your mother anyways. Your father won’t be able to do shit either, isn’t he just a stupid gym teacher?”** The shadow laughed hauntingly. 

“Fuck you…” The girl whispered under her breath. 

**“What was that!?”**

“I said fuck you!” The other three were shocked when the blonde punched the shadow with all her might. “I don’t care what I have to do! I will protect my family from nobodies like you!” 

**_“At long last, you listen to your rebellion.”_ ** Her blue eyes widened as pain shot through her head. She clenched her hair as she fell to her knees.  **_“Take up arms and protect the family and friends you hold so dearly.”_ ** Saki stood her eyes now a piercing gold as she glared at the shadow. 

“I understand now.” A dragon-shaped mask appeared on her face.

**_“Very good… I am thou, thou art I. Show them how fiercely you can fight!”_ ** The blonde struggled for a moment when she managed to rip off the red mask. Ace and Prince looked on as her clothes changed from the Shujin uniform to traditional Chinese armor with red cloth underneath. The armor itself is shining gold. Behind her stood a warrior in similar armor, it was much harder to tell the persona’s gender. The armor seemed more masculine, however, its face was painted with traditional female Chinese makeup. 

“Hell yeah! Let’s do this Mulan!” An excited grin came to her face. Her friends joined to help her. “Zio!” A spear appeared in her hand as she attacked the shadow. When the shadows were all defeated, they noticed Satio disappeared from the area. “I did it! Yeah-oh.” Saki fell to her knees in exhaustion. 

“Saki! You okay?” Jiro kneeled next to her, putting her arm around his shoulder. 

“Y-yeah just tried.” The blonde gave them a reassuring smile. “This armor is a little uncomfortable.” She admitted quietly. 

“Come on, let’s get home.”

_ (I am thou… thou art I _

_ Thou hast acquired a new vow _

_ It shall become the wings of rebellion that breakth thy chains of captivity _

_ With the birth of the Chariot persona. I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power) _

**Saki Sakamoto**

**Arcana:** Chariot

**Rank 1**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it and thank you for reading! Also, I really appreciate that you take the time to read this story. I don't think I say that enough, like seriously thank you.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think! This is probably going to be longer and I really want to take my time while writing this, I want to plan more before writing.


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